Shade and valence construction



Sept. 30, 1969 s. D. BARNETT SHADE AND VALENCE CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 7. 1968 United States Patent O 3,469,619 SHADE AND VALENCE CONSTRUCTION Stanley D. Barnett, Mount Vernon, N.Y., assignor to Venetianaire Corporation of America, Yonkers, N.Y. Filed Aug. 7, 1968, Ser. No. 750,821 Int. Cl. E04b 9/08; E041. 10/06 U.S. Cl. 160-19 1 Claim ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates generally to the eld of slattype roller shades or blinds, and more particularly to an improved valence adapted to be used in conjunction therewith in such manner as to conceal the pulleys mou-nted adjacent the upper edge of the shade or blind from which control cords depend.

Roller type shades or blinds of the type above mentioned, are normally not provided with valences, owing to the difriculty of mounting the same upon the shade or blind, and since the cords for raising and lowering the same are usually positioned on a front surface thereof, it has been conventional construction to expose the pulleys over which the cords pass, to result in a less than attractive appearance.

Since the entire device is normally suspended at only two points from a vertical surface, the provision of a valence would require separate mounting means, consequent additional expense, and diiculty in mounting the same with respect to the blind.

It is therefore among the principal objects of the invention to provide a conveniently installed attractive valence which may be used in conjunction with devices of the above type.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of an improved valence construction which may be mounted upon a shade or blind to interconnect with conventional supporting loops, thereby obviating the necessity of drilling additional holes, or employing additional mounting means of any type at the time of installing the blind itself.

Yet another object of the invention lies in the provision of improved valence construction of the class described, in which the cost of fabrication may be of a reasonable low order, thereby adding very little to the total cost of the shade or blind.

A further object of the invention lies in the provision of improved valence construction, possessed of above advantages, which may be made from the same materials as the blind itself, thereby facilitating the manufacture thereof.

These objects, as well as other incidental ends and advantages, will more fully appear in the progress of the following disclosure, and be pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawing to which reference will be made in the specification, similar reference characters have been employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary view in perspective of an embodiment of the invention.

3,469,619 Patented Sept. 30, 1969 ICC FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary view in elevation showing the inwardly disposed surface of the valence element which comprises a part of the embodiment.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical sectional view as seen from the plane 3 3 in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary enlarged Vertical sectional view as seen from the plane 4-4 in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of one of the supporting blackets by which the valence is interconnected to the I 'nd.

In accordance with the invention, the device, generally indicated by reference character 10, comprises broadly: a shade element 11 and a valence element 12.

The shade element 11 may be of conventional construction, including -an upper edge member 14, a corresponding lower edge member (not shown) and a plurality of interconnecting slats 16, the longitudinal edges 17 of which are maintained in abutted relation by vertically disposed looped cords 15.

The upper edge member 14 is supported in substantially horizontal orientation by loop means 18 and 19, in turn engaged by nails or screws 20 whereby the shade element 11 is supported parallel to a vertical surface 21 (see FIGURES 3 and 4). The loop means 18 and 19 support in turn brackets 22 which are penetrated by pintle means 23, as best seen in FIGURES 3 and 4. The lower portions 24 of the brackets 22 support one or more pulleys 25 for the passage of cords which raise or lower the shade element 11 from the lower edge thereof, as is well known in the art.

The valence element 12 includes irst and second bracket member 28 and 29, respectively, and are adapted to penetrate the interstices 30 in the loop means 18 and 19, and be supported thereby. The element 12 also includes an upper edge member 31 from which depend a small plurality of slats 32, which preferably correspond in width and length to that of the Islats 16 to provide a uniform appearance. The lowermost of the slots 32 may be enclos-ed within a lower edge member 33 for providing a superior appearance.

The upper edge member 31 may be generally similar to that of the upper edge member 14, and is of quasi-tubular cross section, including a front wall 35, a rear wall 36, a cur-ved upper wall 37 and a 4split lower wall 38 defining an interstice 39 for engagement with the uppermost of the slats 32.

The rear -wall 36, as best seen in FIGURE 2, is provided with a plurality of horizontally oriented slots 41 corresponding in number to the brackets 28 and Z9, for engagement therewith.

Referring to FIGURES 3, 4 `and 5, the bracket members 28 and 29 are similar, each including a laterally extending enlargement 44 the width of which exceeds that of the interstice in the loop means 18-19, the enlargement being joined to a first horizontal portion 45. The portion 45 is in turn interconnected by a bend portion 46 to a first vertical portion 47, the lower end of which interconnects through a bend portion 48 to a second horizontal portion 49. A third bend portion 50 interconnects with a second vertical portion 51 which projects through a slot 41 to support the member 31. As seen in FIGURES 3 and 4, upon such engagement, the valence element is positioned directly in front o-f the pulleys 25, and only the cords 26 are visible therebelow, when the shade element 11 is viewed from the exposed surface thereof It will be observed that no separate attachment of the valence element is necessary, since the weight of the valence element is sufficiently small as to require no support other than the engagement of the loops 18 and 19.

I wish it to be understood that I do not consider the invention limited to the precise details of structure shown and set forth in this specification, for obvious modifications will occur to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

I claim:

1. In a rollable vertically suspended shade construction, including `an upper edge member, means interconneeting said member with a vertical surface to -be `supported thereby, said shade including cord and pulley means for raising the same from a lower edge thereof, the improvement comprising: valence means for at least partially concealing said pulley means, said valence means including a valence element having a horizontal Width substantially equal to that of said blind, and having an upper edge member, a plurality of bracket members joining said upper edge member of said` valence element and said means for interconnecting said upper edge member with said vertical surface to position said valence means forwardly of said pulley means; each of said bracket members being an elongated unitary piece having first engagement means at one end thereof engaging the upper edge of said valence member, a horizontal portion extending rearwardly of said valence member, a vertical portion extending vertically from said horizontal UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,026,669 1/1936 Buck 160-133 2,293,662 8/1942 Richardson 160--19 2,808,222 10/1957 Wassyng et al. 160-133 X 3,124,195 3/1964 Anderson 160-231 X 3,246,685 4/ 1966 Anderson et al. 160-231 X 3,398,981 8/ 1967 Vincens 248-223 PETER M. CAUN, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

